Sensex rises more than 200 points; power stocks lead

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex traded higher on Friday with shares in power companies gaining on hopes that the new Narendra Modi-led BJP government would focus on removing bottlenecks in the sector.

The BSE Sensex was up 0.94 percent while the Nifty gained 0.91 percent as of 10:45 a.m.

NTPC Ltd gains 2 percent, while Tata Power Co is up 2.3 percent.

ITC edges up 0.64 percent and State Bank of India is down 0.25 percent, ahead of respective Jan-March earnings later in the day.

Reliance Communications surges 2.1 percent after the Financial Times reported that the Indian company was in talks with China's Citic Telecom <1833.HK> over an undersea cable joint venture, citing unnamed people familiar with the talks.

 

Coal India Ltd gains 1.1 percent, adding to Thursday's 5.1 percent surge, after Reuters reported that prime minister-designate Narendra Modi was exploring an overhaul of the state behemoth, a step that an investor said would unlock more value in the firm.

(Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)